1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a synthetic board utilizing a plant-origin material, adapted for use as an interior board of a vehicle.
An ordinary synthetic board, utilized as an interior member of a vehicle or a construction member, has been prepared by mixing a phenolic resin as an adhesive material in wood chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
However, because of the recent strong demand for the use of materials having little detrimental effects on the global environment, technologies are being developed for preparing a synthetic board, without relying on the material originated from petroleum (petroleum-origin material) such as the phenolic resin. One of the technologies for preparing a synthetic board without relying on the petroleum-origin material is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-39127A.
However, a synthetic board, prepared from a material originated from plants (plant-origin material), involves a drawback of having a high specific gravity.
A high specific gravity of the synthetic board leads to various drawbacks. For example, a synthetic board of such high specific gravity, when employed in a head lining member, which serves to form an internal face of a ceiling of a vehicle, leads to a situation that the head lining is bent by the weight thereof.
Also such synthetic board of a high specific gravity, when utilized as a panel (door panel) constituting an internal face of a door of a vehicle, is less liable to cause the drawback of bending by the weight thereof, but increases the weight of the vehicle, thereby deteriorating the fuel economy.
Also the synthetic board with an increased specific gravity results in an increased labor power required for transportation. Therefore, the development of a synthetic board, that is formed by a material less detrimental to the global environment and that has a lower specific gravity, is being demanded not only in the vehicle assembling sites but also in construction sites and the like.